Friend Friday- Body Image

I am so excited for this week's Friend Friday.  I have been wanting to do a post about this topic, but wasn't sure how to go about it.  This week's Fashion Beauty Friend Friday topic is on body image.  To be honest, this is something I have NEVER struggled with, until recently.  In high school, sure I was self conscious of my small chest, but I have always been extremely thin, so I figured I didn't have much room to complain. 

When I was 17, I read a magazine article on body types.  In one column, labeled "If you look like...," there were celebrities of all different shapes and sizes, and in the other column labeled, "You will never look like...," there were other celebrities with opposite body types.  I scanned the images and found my boyish-boob-less-hip-less figure in the form of Nicole Kidman.  Since I look like Nicole Kidman, I will never look like.... Scarlett Johansen.  It was then that I decided I loved my body.  It was cute, it was great (even my AA cups), everything worked, and it was mine!  I was stuck with it forever so I had better l♥ve it.

Since turning 25+2, I have noticed that my body has been changing.  I like to call it "late bloomer syndrome."  My waist has stayed the same but I've noticed that I look a lot less like a banana and a lot more like a squash.  My tiny AA's have grown to full B's and my hips would make any Mormon mom jealous (when the time comes, tons of babies will just shoot out!)  Even with these changes, I am still a very small size 2.  The other day at work, after a very lengthy discussion about the actual size of celebrities, and the skew the media puts on an "ideal body type,"  a bunch of us found a tape measure and decided to take our measurements and compare them to celebrities.

According to the Internet (a very reliable source)  I have the exact measurements as Shakira (32-24-37), only she is 5'1" and I am 5'7".  Most celebrities have large boobs and no hips.  For example, considering height, I am closest to Olivia Wilde who at 5'7" is 32-24-32.  After all of us found a close celebrity example, we googled swim suit photos of them, and let me just tell you, I do not look like either of those women in a bathing suit....  Anyway, on with FBFF.  

The Questions:

1. Since you started blogging has your image of yourself changed?

Not really.  I have noticed however is that the camera and the mirror project two very different images of what I look like.  I like the camera better, it's real and doesn't have all of the "insecurity issues" my brain projects on the mirror image.  The camera shows me I'm thin, even when the mirror doesn't... But, may hair always looks better in the mirror!

2. Are you self-conscious about any aspect of yourself? If so, do you go out of your way to avoid it or do you post it/talk about it anyway?

I have struggled with my skin since high school.  I have never had great skin, or anything close to it.  I have large pores and hormonal acne.  Hormonal = no cure/treatment.  A bad breakout can cause me to not take photos of myself, and even call into work (I seriously did this once).  It is the one thing I would change if I had a Celeb. status bank account.  Until then, I'll remain close friends with my Dermatologist.

3. Based on how you are feeling now, what do you think the future holds in the evolution of your body image?

I hope it stays the same.  I really don't have any issues with my body, my parents raised me to believe that I was beautiful no matter what the world (or my brothers) said.  I feel like worring about things I can't change, is a waste of time.  Like everyone, I have "fat days" or "ugly days", but I figure, I'm not willing to cause a breakout from stressing about it- so I don't let it get to me, I can't.  On those days, I put on jeans and baggy shirt and get on with my life.  This body is the only one I have, the one I'll always have, and so I have learned to love it simply because it's mine.  It's not easy, and it took years, but I love my body, bowed leg and all!

4. Do you photograph yourself for your blog? If so, how do you feel about the experience when you're having your picture taken? If you choose not to post pictures of yourself, what prompted that decision?

Yes and no.  I become great friends with my tripod, and when there is a photo of me on the blog, 90 % of the time it is a self portrait done with remote and tripod.  Most times I feel like an idiot dancing in the midle of the street, or outside my office building; it has tons of windows so everyone in their office can see me- but it must be done.  The other 10% of the photos of me are taken by nice brothers, or my co-worker and partner in crime (he's been doing all of the outfit photos lately!).

5. What would you want every person who struggles with body image to take to heart?

"97% of women will be unkind to their bodies today."  I read this quote in two recent magazine articles, and it makes me sad.  It is not logical to compare yourselves to what you see on TV or read in magazines.  If you do, google image search "unretouched celebrity photos."  They look just like everyone else in real life.  The ones that look heavy on TV are actually size 2-6, the girls that look like they have the "perfect" bodies on TV look like they just survived the Great Famine- in real life they look like they're starving to death. 

The way great self perception is to realize your stuck with your body.  It won't change without a complete lifestyle change, unreasonable hours in a gym, or giving up eating anything other than lean chicken and vegetables.  Learn to love what you have, never compare, and buy a pair of great shoes for the days you don't like what the mirror says.